Citation

McKinzie AE. Sociol. Race Ethn. (Thousand Oaks) 2017; 3(4): 522-537.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/2332649217702659

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this article, the author examines long-term recovery from disaster in Joplin, Missouri, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Tornados devastated both cities in 2011. The author asks (1) how sociohistoric contexts influenced perceptions of recovery and (2) how perceptions of recovery vary within and across social groups and geographic contexts. This research is based on fieldwork that spans 2013 to 2016, archival data, and 162 interviews. There are three main findings. First, although most White residents in both cities narrate a lasting leveling effect, people of color in both locations repudiate that claim. Second, White residents in Joplin explain their recovery in colorblind racist ways, while Tuscaloosa residents do not. Third, the author shows the ways in which social class intersects with gender and race to produce particular perspectives.

Language: en